It was a bold and distinctive gesture from a man who has made his name out of them.
World-renowned architect Frank Gehry has flipped the bird in response to those who say he practises "showy architecture", before blasting most contemporary buildings as "pure shit".
But Sydney architects have been reluctant to pass judgment on Gehry's comments, which were made at a press conference in Spain and initially reported by El Mundo.
"Let me tell you one thing," Gehry began, according to a translation by Gizmodo.
"In this world we are living in, 98 per cent of everything that is built and designed today is pure shit. There's no sense of design, no respect for humanity or for anything else. They are damn buildings and that's it.
"Once in a while, however, there's a small group of people who does something special. Very few. But good god, leave us alone! We are dedicated to our work. I don't ask for work. I don't have a publicist. I'm not waiting for anyone to call me. I work with clients who respect the art of architecture. Therefore, please don't ask questions as stupid as that one."
A journalist had reportedly asked the 85-year-old whether "emblematic buildings" such as his would continue to feature in modern cities. It followed on from another asking him to respond to those who accuse him "of practising showy architecture". He did so by producing his middle finger.
Gehry, who later apologised that he was tired from his trip, was in Spain to receive the Prince of Asturias Award for his contribution to the arts.
Spain's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao counts as one of his most famous buildings. His Fondation Louis Vuitton museum in Paris opened earlier this month.
And Australia can now also lay claim to its own, recently completed, Gehry creation. The University of Technology Sydney's new business school, dubbed the "paper bag" but officially called the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, is due to be opened next year.
Anthony Burke, the head of the school of architecture at UTS, declined to comment about Gehry's remarks.
But the NSW chapter president of the Australian Institute of Architects, Joe Agius, said Gehry was clearly tired and had later apologised for the response, which Mr Agius noted was prompted by questions attacking his work.
Mr Agius said Australian cities featured many very good designs - and that should be celebrated.
"There's a whole profession working very hard with the sole focus of creating a better quality built environment," he said.
Ken Maher, the chairman of design firm Hassell, said he respected the work of people like Gehry "who do quite exceptional and successful buildings, but to decry the broader quality of work done ... is doing architects broadly a disservice".
"Is a city made of a relatively few number of icons or is it made a lot more [from] really good buildings? It needs to be more the latter than the former," he said.
Philip Thalis, of Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Project, said it was a question of whether we as a society wanted good architecture, commissioned it and supported it.
"The poverty is of imagination, not of budget," Mr Thalis said. "We are one of the richest countries in the world and have been for 100 years."
